New York, New Jersey Brace For Nor'Easter

New York and New Jersey, already battered by Superstorm Sandy, are bracing for winds of up to 60 mph, snow and rain.

A nor'easter is forecast to race up the east coast of the United States today and tomorrow. NPR's Richard Harris reports the National Weather Service says the storm will affect the mid-Atlantic as weel.

Richard filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"The storm is likely to leave its mark along a broad swath of the Mid-Atlantic and into New England. The weather service has issued coastal flood warnings, which includes breaking waves of eight to 12 feet on top of a storm surge.

"The storm is also expected to bring a mix of rain and snow, and possibly sleet, through Washington D.C., Baltimore and up the coast. Philadelphia has a winter storm warning, with possible snow accumulation of three to five inches. Winds throughtout the region are forecast at 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph, starting this afternoon and through tonight. That could mean more power outages and misery for areas still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy."

Authorities in New Jersey ordered some mandatory evacuations. The Newark Star-Ledger reports that Brick Township and Middletown have asked residents in low-lying areas and along the bayshore to leave.

NY1 reports that New York City has ordered the evacuation of some nursing homes. NY1 adds:

"[New York Mayor Michael] Bloomberg says all parks, playgrounds and beach will be closed starting at noon Wednesday and police will patrol coastal areas prone to further flooding and recommend residents evacuate.

'Even though it's not anywhere near as strong as sandy nor strong enough in normal times for us to evacuate any body because of the changing physical circumstances we are going to go to some small areas and ask those people to go to higher ground,' Bloomberg said.

"The mayor has also ordered all exterior construction work suspended starting at noon Wednesday."

Update at 7:55 p.m. ET. Power Outages:

The Star-Ledger is reporting power outages in East Brunswick and other areas because of the storm, which has also caused a traffic nightmare on I-280.